Springbok Fans Incredibly Humble Response To Sides Loss To Japan

Reddit user I_Gets_The_Reference wrote this incredibly humble response to his sides shock defeat at the hands of Japan in the Rugby World Cup…

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Honestly, it hurts that we were on the receiving end of the result, and I have very little faith in Meyer and his geriatrics. But I’m not in pain like I would be if we lost to New Zealand, and I’ve been trying to work out why.

The reason is: I’m a rugby fan first, a Springbok fan a very close second. I’m genuinely more happy for Japan and our sport than I am sad or angry.

I was in Brighton, and the Japanese fans were so fucking polite. We started begrudgingly congratulating them as we left our seats, and they were all so understanding of what we were going through, said “thank you”, called the result “a miracle” and in general were lovely. By the time we reached Brighton station, we were hugging every Japanese person we could find.

Also – we didn’t lose to Japan. Japan beat South Africa, which always makes it hurt less. We didn’t play very, very far below our acceptable standard. We could play every game like that and likely still win our group. (I think, my memory of the match is blurred with wine and panic).

I think that’s why it doesn’t hurt like it should, and I think that’s why Springbok fans let the Japenese fans off the trains home first and gave them standing ovations as they left.

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